Date: March 18, 2024
To: U.S. House of Representatives
Re: Opposition to legislation that would repeal the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP)
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our members and supporters, the groups listed below strongly oppose H.R. 1023,
legislation that would repeal the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP).
Repealing this critical program would harm the climate, impair public health, increase
waste, and imperil economic benefits already being realized as a result of the program.
Reducing oil and gas methane emissions is one of the most efficient and effective ways to
address climate change, reduce needless waste, and protect the health of the millions of
Americans living in or around active oil and gas sites. Congress has repeatedly made clear that
cutting methane emissions is a priority, most recently when it passed the MERP in the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022.
The MERP includes several important provisions that will help put the U.S. on a path to quickly
cut methane emissions, which have already warmed the planet 0.5°C (total warming to date is
about 1°C).1 These provisions include a waste emissions charge, which only applies to operators
with large facilities that release over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse
gas emissions each year. These large oil and gas facilities are only responsible for paying the
charge for the portion of emissions exceeding industry-developed, performance-based targets2,
and many operators will not be required to pay any fees because they have already made
investments to reduce their emissions. Similarly, an independent operator with hundreds of
low-producing wells within a particular basin would likely not pay the charge. And of course,
many operators are already taking steps now to avoid assessed fees by making cost-effective
investments to reduce emissions and decrease waste, and those that have not still have ample
time to do so. Many operators are already making those investments; delaying implementation
lets bad actors off the hook, and studies show that every million metric tons of methane released
in the atmosphere contributes to an additional 1,430 premature deaths annually.3
MERP is a forward-looking program, set to put the U.S. on a path of successfully and efficiently
reducing oil and gas methane emissions and spurring economic innovation in methane
mitigation. The standards and limits set in MERP complement the recently-finalized methane
standards for oil and gas, are in line with the industry-set goals, and many operators understand
the need to lower their emissions and have already started doing so.
Again, we urge you to VOTE NO on H.R. 1023, legislation that would repeal the critical
Methane Emissions Reduction Program.
Sincerely,
350 Colorado
350 Wisconsin
Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
Arizona Climate Action Coalition
Arizona Interfaith Power & Light
Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America - Michigan Chapter
Bold Alliance
California Interfaith Power & Light
Ceres
Change the Chamber
Citizens Caring for the Future
Citizens Caring for the Future in Carlsbad, NM
Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Clean Air Council
Clean Air Task Force
Clean Water Action
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Law & Policy Project
Conservation Voters New Mexico
Dakota Resource Council
Defend Our Future
Delaware Interfaith Power & Light
Earthjustice
Earthworks
Elders Climate Action
Environment America
Environment Texas
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Law & Policy Center
Ethical And Respectful Treatment of Humans (EARTH)
Evergreen Action
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light
Green America
GreenLatinos
Greenpeace USA
Health Action New Mexico
Hispanic Access Foundation
Institute for a Progressive Nevada
Interfaith Power & Light
Jewish Earth Alliance- PA
Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc.
League of Conservation Voters
Liveable Arlington
Los Padres ForestWatch
Michigan Climate Action Network
Moms Clean Air Force
National Audubon Society
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Parks Conservation Association
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Mexico & El Paso Interfaith Power and Light
New Mexico Sportsmen
Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance
Northern Plains Resource Council
Oceana
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund
Oxfam America
PennEnvironment
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
Public Land Solutions
Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light
Rio Grande Indivisible, New Mexico
Rio Grande International Study Center
Runners for Public Lands
Sierra Club
Socially Responsible Investment Coalition
Southern Environmental Law Center
Texas Impact
Texas Interfaith Power and Light
The People's Justice Council
The Wilderness Society
Three Rivers Waterkeeper
U.S. PIRG
Union of Concerned Scientists
US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
Waterkeeper Alliance
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Western Colorado Alliance
Western Leaders Network
Western Organization of Resource Councils
Zero Hour
1 IPCC, WGI, Summary for Policymakers 7 (2021), https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf
2 See for example: https://www.ogci.com/action-and-engagement/reducing-methane-emissions/#methane-target and
https://onefuture.us/2022-methane-emissions-intensity-report/
3 United Nations Environment Programme, Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions
(2021), https://www.ccacoalition.org/sites/default/files/resources//2021_Global-Methane_Assessment_full_0.pdf